Have Buyers and Sellers Become Bored of Waiting for Brexit Outcome?

Property buyers and sellers may have become bored of waiting for the Brexit outcome, speeding up activity in the housing market over the coming months.

Uncertainty surrounding Brexit has caused a slowdown in the UK property market over the past few months.

The latest UK Property Transactions Statistics from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), covering April 2019, show that the provisional seasonally adjusted property transaction count was 99,420 residential and 11,300 non-residential sales last month.

The provisional seasonally adjusted number of residential property transactions dropped by 0.3% between March and April, but is up by 0.8% on an annual basis.

Shaun Church, the Director of mortgage broker Private Finance, examines the statistics: “While spring fever is yet to hit the UK’s property market, the postponement of Brexit could be set to spark a flurry of summertime completions. Many potential buyers and sellers have adopted a wait-and-see approach, with first time buyers largely propping up the market over the past year, as they take advantage of the affordable mortgage deals and easing house prices that have arisen during these quieter market conditions.

“With the extension to Brexit meaning this uncertainty is unlikely to conclude for a number of months, the patience of prospective buyers and sellers is now being tested and, for many, has reached its limit. Home movers that have maintained a wait-and-see approach for months, if not years, now face the prospect of waiting till the autumn for a clearer picture on the UK’s future outside of the EU. We’re seeing these buyers and sellers now looking to move, regardless of the outcome of Brexit, which is set to bringing an uplift to market activity in the months to come.”

Are you expecting to see greater levels of activity in the property market over the coming months, despite the Brexit outcome?